Rule of Rose
Rule of Rose (ルールオブローズ, Rūru obu Rōzu) is a survival horror game for the PlayStation 2 developed by Punchline and published by Atlus in 2006. It has often been compared with other similar survival horror gaming series such as ''Silent Hill'' and ''Clock Tower'', due to the psychological horror elements used throughout, and its distorted storyline. It is also compared to the one-shot game, ''Haunting Ground'' due to the use of a canine companion for the main character. Set in 1930, Cardington, Bedfordshire, England, a few years before the second World War broke out, the game tells the story of a teenage girl named Jennifer as she is forced to work for the Red Crayon Aristocrat Club: an unruly, cruel society formed by the children of the Rose Garden Orphanage. Upon its release, Rule of Rose gained mixed reviews from many publications. It was praised for its intriguing, original, and in-depth storyline, while it was put down for its "irritating" combat system and confusing plot. The game has also been the subject of controversy, due to the scenes of violence against the main adult protagonist inflicted by the child cast and the suggested sexuality amongst its underage, female characters. Plot :For the full plot of the game, see 'Rule of Rose (plot)'''. The main story of ''Rule of Rose focuses on nineteen-year-old Jennifer, as she recovers the forgotten memories of her childhood and remembers the people she knew at the Rose Garden Orphanage. Because the plot is based on Jennifer's memories alone, what really happened is not always obvious to the player due to the fact that Jennifer's memory can alter or distort events and dates. The fact that the plot is only based on Jennifer's point of view also stops the player from seeing all sides of the story as well. What happened before and after the events of the game is never revealed, although many hints are given. Themes While many could compare Rule of Rose to Lord of the Flies, other themes in this game are still a bit unknown. Of course, there is also the generic theme of Rule of Rose: child's play; it takes you into the perspective of seeing the world and certain event's through children's eyes, whether they be violent events or not. Gameplay For most of the game, the player explores the environments and searches for items, furthering the plot by accomplishing tasks and experiencing cut-scenes, as well as encountering random enemy battles and a few boss battles. Brown's abilities Early in the game, the player encounters Brown, who accompanies Jennifer throughout the game and will respond to commands; such as tracking items by scent, being commanded to 'stay' and being called to Jennifer's side. Brown cannot attack enemies, but can growl, which distracts some imps and bosses, allowing Jennifer to retreat or land a few blows without fear of retaliation. He can be injured to the point of collapse, causing him to stop distracting enemies or tracking an item. Brown's ability to locate items is an important part of the game and is used in every chapter of Rule of Rose to progress further in game and plot. The same system allows the player to find health restoratives and other items which, whilst not essential to complete the game, can help the player and unlock hidden items. Finding items is very much like a treasure trial: the players selects an item from the inventory for Brown to locate another, which is then connected to the 'find' command until changed or removed. When tracking items this way, Brown will lead the player through the environments, scratching at doors in his way for the player to open. Most items are hidden and must be uncovered by Brown, though the player can choose to avoid searching for these items in order to progress quickly. Combat Combat is almost exclusively melee in Rule of Rose, with a variety of improvised weapons available, such as kitchen knives and pipes. Since Jennifer is a timid character, her melee attacks are neither powerful nor very long-ranged. Due to this, Jennifer can't hit foes from a good distance and may become seriously injured, especially against a large group of imps. The only "real weapon" in the game is Gregory's Gun: a simple handgun which isn't achived until the final battle against Stray Dog. The pistol gives the player a longer-range and no real need to get close to the boss unless needed. Health Restorative items are snack foods in the game, such as candy and scones, which each heal varying amounts of health. Animal Bones and meat can be used to restore Brown's health if he becomes injured. Other items - such as marbles and ribbons - have no immediate use, but may be traded with the Aristocrats in order to obtain food, unlockable items and weapons. Soundtrack A 6-track promotional soundtrack CD was produced by Atlus, which was issued to customers from certain retailers when Rule of Rose was pre-ordered. The musical score was composed by Yutaka Minobe, who also composed the music of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skies_of_Arcadia Skies of Arcadia] and some tracks from the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panzer_Dragoon_Orta Panzer Dragoon Orta] soundtrack. The entire score was created without electronic instruments - most of the music was produced by musicians, the Hiroshi Murayama Trio, using pianos and string instruments such as violins and cellos. According to the game's developers, the music was intended to bring a human element to the atmosphere in the game. The theme song of Rule of Rose is entitled A Love Suicide, and was preformed by The Hiroshi Murayama Trio with Hiroshi Murayama on the piano and the vocals were provided by Murayama's wife, Kaori Kondo. Reception Reaction to Rule of Rose has been lukewarm, with mixed reviews. It is generally agreed that the game has an interesting plot, with The AV Club observing that "aside from a few deep curtsies and an unlockable Gothic Lolita costume, the characters are more sinister than sexualised". However the gameplay is widely lambasted as clumsy, archaic, and unrewarding. The press was generally divided upon how much the gameplay detracts from one's ability to enjoy the story itself. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edge_(magazine) Edge magazine] found neither plot nor gameplay appealing: "It’s just a murky brew of meaningless, exploitative dysfunction filling an empty game, and it leaves a bitter taste." Acegamez, on the other hand, not only admired the game's plot but also found the gameplay appealing if slow: "a wonderful psychological thriller that will draw you in with its bizarrely compelling narrative, atmospheric presentation and thoughtful story-based gameplay". The game has also obtained a Metacritic metascore of 59/100 and a GameRankings average ratio of 61%. Despite the average reception that the game recieved, it has become infamous in the Survival Horror genre of gaming. Today, many fans hail it as one of the most unique, intriguing, underrated, and beautiful games of all time. Controversy In Europe Rule of Rose raised controversies in Poland, where the Ministry of Education raised questions concerning the game's suitability for minors because of the themes of child violence and sexuality - the game was rated 16+ in Europe. The then European Union justice minister Franco Frattini attacked the game, saying that it contained "obscene cruelty and brutality". He also called for changes to the PEGI rating system in place across Europe and for government officials to engage in discussions with industry representatives. According to news site The Register, Frattini received a letter from European Commissioner for Information Society and Media, Viviane Reding, who criticised Frattini's actions: "It is...very unfortunate that my services were not pre-consulted before your letter to the Ministers of Interior was sent out." Reding reminded him of the commission backed self-regulating ratings system called PEGI that has operated across the EU since 2003. The PEGI system of classification, according to Reding's letter, offers "informed adult choice" without censoring content - "This is in line with the Commission's view that measures taken to protect minors and human dignity must be carefully balanced with the fundamental right to freedom of expression as laid down in the Charter on Fundamental Rights of the European Union". On 7 March 2007, a group of MEPs presented a Motion for a European Parliament resolution on a ban on the sale and distribution in Europe of the game and the creation of a "European Observatory on childhood and minors". The games publisher for Europe, 505 Games, chose to cancel the release of the game in the UK in response to the complaints by Frattini and other EU officials, and "largely misleading" commentary from the UK press. It was released in the rest of Europe. Review copies of the title had already shipped to UK journalists when this was announced. The Video Standards Council, the UK rating body which had granted the title its 16+ PEGI rating, responded to the press and Frattini's comments: In Australia and New Zealand In November 2006, 505 Games' Australian and New Zealand distributor, Red Ant Enterprises, confirmed that the release of the game had been canceled in both territories. Red Ant stated that the game had not been submitted to the Australian Office of Film and Literature Classification for approval, without which the game cannot be sold in Australia. ''Rule of Rose had a Australasian release in February 2007. In the USA At E3 2006, Atlus announced that they would be releasing Rule of Rose in the United States, following Sony's decision to pass on a US release. Sony's decision was on the grounds of the game's erotic undertones involving a cast of female minors. Punchline disagreed with this, saying that the sexual themes are only a small part of the game. Future Due to the lukewarm reception and enormous controversy that the game recieved, along with the questionable state of the game's developing company, chances for a sequel are slim. However, many fans state that the story of the game has been greatly negelected in terms of appreciation, and request that there be a book or movie made based on the game.﻿ Simularities with other stories Lord of the Flies Rule of Rose ''is extremely similar in terms of themes to Lord of the Flies. A Little Princess ''Rule of Rose shares many simularies with the novel, play, and movie, A Little Princess. ''For one thing, the setting for the two stories is exactly the same: England, early 1900's (excluding the 1995 version of the movie, which took place in New York). For another, both the main character's predicaments are similar, as Jennifer and Sara were both orphaned and were sent away to places where they were shunned from the other children. The game is also similar to the theme of ''A Little Princess; "all girls are princesses," in how the children of Rule of Rose are depicted as either a Prince or Princess. One also cannot forget that the first chapter of the game is entitled, "The Little Princess."﻿ Video 600px|center Gallery Rule of rose logo.jpg|The game's logo External links *[http://www.atlus.com/ruleofrose/ Rule of Rose English site] *[http://www.jp.playstation.com/scej/title/ror/# Rule of Rose Japanese site] *[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rule_of_rose Rule of Rose] on Wikipedia Category:Content